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Thursday, December 29, 2011

Ho Ho Ho!

The buzz and hype for Christmas has passed now, but we had a great time celebrating!!

Highlights:

My mom came up for the holiday.
Landon loved the extra wrestling partner and he loved that she brought Sadie...
Since we had some fresh fluffy snow, Landon and Gammy got some time to play outside.
Back to Bentleyville to see the lights.... 
...and Mrs. Claus!
We opened Christmas Eve PJs
And played with Daddy before going to bed so Santa could come!
As if Santa NEEDED to come.....I think we were plenty spoiled without an extra drop off!
Here is before Santa:
And after Santa we add this:


Let the opening begin....



And the aftermath of such an extravaganza....

We also went to Uncle Dean's and Auntie Deb's house.
They got Landon this AWESOME Harley jacket!!

And we took a quick trip up to Silver Bay to see Uncle Elzie and Auntie Phyllis. 

Uncle Elzie made (yes, folks, MADE) this totally fantastic desk for Landon.
And once everything was cleaned up, assembled, and put away, I think we had a pretty happy camper!
Maybe a bit spoiled as well....


Happy Holidays!

Friday, December 23, 2011

Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

It is FINALLY snowing!!

Definately not enough to be a blizzard, cause road issues, or even really cover too much, but nonetheless....

IT IS SNOWING!

When it started getting cold, we got a light dusting, and being that we were excited, we went out to play.
Again, not anything more than a light dusting, but Landon had fun!

After Thanksgiving we got a little (I mean a LITTLE) more snow.
But even the Christmas lights couldn't make it seem more "holiday season-ish" without snow.

We had one day that started off promising.....snow came down, stuck to the ground, even needed (or at least Adam WANTED) to use the snow blower on the driveway. 

Of course, Landon helped!



Then today, the snow came!!!

The weather forecast wasn't saying any snow was coming for the forseeable future, so we were expecting a brown Christmas.

And Tah-Daaaaah!!
SNOW!
So we had to go out and play!!
Yummy snow!
Bailey played too!
Of course, we had to warm up after being outside.....
We are going to nap GREAT today! 

Happy Day!





Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Not a baby anymore.....

I no longer have a baby.....

I have a big boy.

October 5, 2009

Life has not been the same since.

Landon came into the world and stole our hearts!

He grew....

And grew...

And became mischevious...

He turned 1....
And became Mr. Independent...
The little boy was fading away...
And before you knew it, he was 2!!
Then came the goodbye to being a baby....

Our First Haircut!!
He didn't even need Mommy or Daddy...he just hopped on up and sat like a BIG BOY!
So handsome!
And Mom only cried a little.....

Can't wait to see the rest of your Big Boy moments, Little Man!

Monday, December 19, 2011

Deep Breath

Let's take a short trip backwards to 2 days ago....Saturday.

Landon and I were up and dressed, breakfast was going smoothly (Mr. Independent was almost completely successful with applesauce to mouth coordination), and the day's To-Do list was reasonable and somewhat exciting.

Then I sat down to open my email and just "check in" with duties at St. Scholastica....

Oh. My. Goodness.

My Blackboard module was now open to me and I was free to add my activities, post threads, etc.

Well, once I got started, I realized that there is A LOT in the Blackboard site that needs adjusting, tweaking, etc.  Definately not a quick project. 

So, deciding that was a project for another day, I decided to complete the information sheet for the Faculty Website.  It asked for my license info and certifications, so I pulled out my Missouri license to get specifics.  

It had expired the day before.
Like, Friday.  Less than 24 hours before I was holding it in my hand.

That was added to the To-Do list under "Blackboard site" and "Syllabus".

At this point, Landon has finished breakfast and is completely and totally done with sitting at the table.  

So I get him down, and decide to make a *quick* phone call to the recommended contractor for an upcoming project.  

That turned into 4 *quick* phone calls.

And with each call, Landon is more and more determined that my attention is going to be his and only his.  Period. 

So, he emptied my silverware drawer, Tupperware cabinet, and baking pans cabinet.  He peeled about 3 oranges, but only ate 2-3 sections of orange.  He dismantled my entire table decoration scheme, attempted to open several Christmas gifts, and thought "Maybe Mommy can't hear me.....let's get LOUDER!!"

And let me explain here, I was in the same room while all this was taking place; I am not a complete idiot!
I just did not want to include reprimands, redirections, and the guaranteed opposition to said redirections in my *quick* phone call.

So finally I decide to step in my bedroom to leave a voicemail for a contractor, free of noise.

Then the door opened.  Not by me, but by my always-learning, very independent 2 year old.

He can now open door knobs.
Oi!!!

And we realized, he can also flip deadbolts and doorknob locks.  In other words, he can open the front door, locked or not.  We now have a slide lock about 7 feet up the door. 

So with everything that happened and more, Saturday was a day where all I wanted to do was yell AAAAHHHHHH!!!! 

Now we move to today.

Adam is off today and had Christmas shopping to do. 

He saw me Saturday, saw my To-Do list for Monday, and said "Landon can come with me".

I had an empty house ALL morning!!!!

I got my Syllabus updated and sent off, plans made for all my face to face classes, Blackboard sorted out for the most part, calls made for license renewal, bed sheets washed and beds remade, bathrooms cleaned, and laundry done!!

Adam. Is. Awesome.

He helps out with EVERYTHING!
 (especially since, according to him, I am "like 10 months pregnant")

He helps clean up after dinner every night.
He does all the vaccuuming, including carrying the vaccuum up and down stairs.
He brings laundry baskets up and down stairs after I wash and fold.
He unloads groceries.
He helps get Landon in PJs and ready for bed.
He gets up to let the dog in and out in the evenings.
He hangs all my Christmas lights outside because I like them :)
He helps pick up toys from the floor (which is getting further and further down every day!)
He works hard and long hours every day so I can stay home.
He tells me I am pretty every day.
He loves me.
He loves our kids A LOT.

Today, I sat down with Adam while Landon was napping and said "Ahhhhhhh....." with complete contentment.

Busy, hectic days come and go, but relief is always going to follow those days.
God will never give me anything I can't handle.
And God gave me Adam to help me realize that.








Thursday, December 1, 2011

Giving Thanks

'Tis the season to be thankful! 
Not only did we have a great Thanksgiving day and meal, but we have had a fantastic Thanksgiving week!

It all started the weekend before Thanksgiving....
Duluth had their annual Celebration of the Season Parade...and I LOVE parades! 

We got all bundled up

And Landon got a bird's eye view thanks to Daddy!
He is 6'4" people.....I think Landon had the best view in town!  :)
Of course the floats were fun and the lights were "oooohhh" as Landon will tell you....

Then there was the Big Event.....Turkey Day!
We had TONS of food!!!!! And a pretty table to eat it on...

My dad came into town for Thanksgiving and Adam's aunt and uncle came over to eat as well. 
Landon really likes his "Unca Dean"! 

While my dad was in town, we had to show him some of the sites of Duluth....keeping in mind it is almost December and can be quite chilly!!
First stop....the train museum.




Like two peas in a pod....

After a stop down in Canal Park to see the lift bridge...

....we HAD to stop at Coney's for a good ol' hot dog!


YUM!!!!

And what would a trip to Duluth be without Sammy's Pizza????

Finally we wrapped up the week with a trip to Bentleyville with Uncle Kevin and Auntie Pam......
FYI:  Bentleyville is this AMAZING lights display that you walk through downtown.  Best parts:  hot chocolate, cookies, marshmallow roasting, pics with Santa.....all for FREE!!!!!!



Hugs from Frosty!

Hanging out with Uncle Kevin :)


And Santa!!!  Of course, we caught the shot in between a blink and have "dopey eyes"....but Daddy got a better one on his phone! 

We even put up the Christmas tree and took some pictures for our Christmas card!


We CLEARLY have a LOT to be thankful for this season!! 

Happy Christmas Season!